28 U.S.C. § 2281
Section 2281 · 2281, 2282. Repealed. Pub. L. 94381, 1, 2, Aug. 12, 1976, 90 Stat. 1119]
Applied in 1,817 court decisions — leading case Baker v. Carr (1962)
Most recently applied in United States v. Cotto-Flores (August 2020)
Applied most in the Second Circuit Circuit (130 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 42 U.S.C. § 1983 · 28 U.S.C. § 1343 · 28 U.S.C. § 1331
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment and consequential amendments — watch for a citation surge after a change. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Section 2281, act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 968, provided that an interlocutory or permanent injunction restraining the enforcement, operation or execution of a State statute on grounds of unconstitutionality should not be granted unless the application has been heard and determined by a three-judge district court. Section 2282, act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 968, provided that an interlocutory or permanent injunction restraining the enforcement, operation or execution of any Act of Congress on grounds of unconstitutionality should not be granted unless the application therefor has been heard and determined by a three-judge district court.